I have learnt to skate on a Variant M and hockey boot which I quite like it but wanted to get a 2nd set of skates for more rhythm style skating and toe spins. Didn't know which plate to get and was thinking the powerdyne reactor pro, roll line minstral or roll line dance plate. Looked at what a lot of my favorite skaters used and opted to get the reactor pro.
Maybe I've not given it long enough yet but I'm not liking it much so far. Going forwards is ok and up on toes seems slightly more stable than the variant but I'm finding backwards a real struggle as well as sideways spread eagle. Not that I'm great at sideways yet but can manage it on a circle ok. I've messed around with the orange and red cushions and even with the soft ones on the rear, it's still not working for me.
When I put my old skates back on with the variant M plate, it's like I breath a sigh of relief and I can skate again.
I was originally thinking of getting the dance plate but was worried it might be too much for me to handle at my current ability. I'm still tempted to try the dance but worried about stability esp when on toes. I tend to get some speed wobble on the variant when on toes, if I go any faster than snail pace. But maybe that's more my ability that the plate!
I was worried the minstral might be to much like the variant and I was hoping for a significant upgrade on the variant really.
So should I be brave and try the dance or play safer with the minstral or are there any other plates I should consider?
Thanks

The powerdyne is a 10 degree plate, the roll-lines are 18 degrees, have you looked at the snyder advantage, it says it's 15 degrees, I thought it was 18, hmm.
It comes with 7 or 8 mm axles, get the 7, in steel or titanium, get the titanium.
Parts are readily available, including every durometer possible cushion, adjustable pivot pins, price wise for the titanium, you're near titanium roll-line, but, parts are readily available, they are sae not metric.

I had some Roll-line matrix, moved to a D/A45, wish Roll-line made a D/A45.

I wonder, using t-nuts inside the boot, mounting that variant in two places, one on the heel, where it is for whatever type skating you do with it on the heel, and then also mounting it with the front axle right under the spot between the big and index toes, a short forward, the t-nuts stay in the boot, the allen bolts attaching the plates to the boots would take a minute to change over, so you could skate with the plates all the way at the back of the boot, if you were art skating or jumping, then you could move the plates forward for rhythm and toe spins, the mystral plate is perfect for all.

Ursle mentioned the differences in your plates' action, but did not elaborate on it. You are used to MORE turning ability with your Roll Lines. The reactor is not a poor choice for Rhythm and toe spins. I would say any 10 degree plate is good for that. My greater concern for the new plate would be the LENGTH of the plate. (axle to axle wheelbase) You want the plate to be the length of the middle of the ball of your foot, to mid heel. Then when you have a plate that short, you put the axles under the mid heel and ball of the foot.

As for help skating the 10 degree:
There are two sets of skate knowledge. What your feet know, and what your body knows. The reason you have trouble with the Reactors is, you want to lean like normal and have your feet react, but the less turny plate cannot react like your Roll Line. To maintain your normal level of body lean, you will have to use tricks to get turning out of the Reactor. This means lifting front or rear axles as you skate to get the level of turning you want out of a plate that does not want to give you the level of turning you want.

When I first got my 45 degree plate, which turns MORE than your Roll Line, I was a turning maniac. I just loved getting the maximum turn out of the plate all the time. As time wore on, I find myself lifting axles to do things, and only use the "pure" turning power of the plate itself once or twice per lap. I don't know how this happened. Just over time, I was less interested in maximum turning power all the time. I developed skill at lifting axles.

This lifting axles stuff led to something interesting. One day, I forgot my skates, and the rink I went to was a long drive. I could not go home and get back in time to skate. So, rentals it was. What I found is, I could lean like I was skating my turny 45 degree plates, and use "tricks" as I call it, to get the skates to turn.

Another illustration of body lean and plates is this. I had gotten a skate buddy on a 45. He liked it, learned to lean a lot and turn well. Well, somebody convinced him that his 45 was trash and he needed a "better" plate, and got him on a Pro Line. Well, my buddy also liked to have SEVERAL drinks before skating. So he would try and lean the way he did on a 45, but the Pro Lines would not give him enough turn. He fell over. A LOT.

Anyways.... I think the reactor is a good plate for what you want to do. The less turny 10 degree will be better for toe spinning. Any plate with more action will feel more noodly. I will bet that the reactor you have is too long.

So, if you want to make peace with the new skate you have, you will have to learn to lean less with it, or apply axle tricks to get enough turning out of the Reactor. If you want to pursue your original goal, I think you will need a shorter reactor, assuming your current reactor is not short enough.

Got rollerbones wheels on them now though but another reason I opted for them was so I could play with the mini mac wheels that don't fit the roll line frame with the king pin being too low.

As far as frame length goes I was worried they might be too short. I opted for a size 6 with a wheelbase of 156 because the boot I was putting them on was kind of skinny with a slim heel. Also my variant has a wheelbase of 160 and I had been thinking of going down a size to a 150 if I had opted for the dance plate. The size 7 pro is 162 so I thought the 156 was a good compromise.

I have taken on board what you have said about lifting the axles and will maybe concentrate on refining that technique more before I give up on them!

The boots I've put them on may get changed in the future but I just wanted to give them a go first seeing as I already had them.

Ursle I'm in Australia so Snyder are non existent here! can find a few different suregrip plates and roll line are quite easy to get. I thought the Roll line Dance is a 45 degree plate. I do think I'll have to try the dance plate at some point though and it does seem to be gaining popularity in the rhythm circles.

Well, for starters, go ahead and measure your feet. Like I said, from the ball of the foot to mid heel. Don't worry about being too precise. It is just a ball park figure. Then we can compare to the wheelbase of the Reactor.

4mm shorter. Not a lot. That probably is not a full size smaller. Assuming that the Roll Line frame is normal. Normal meaning longish.

I'll wait to see what you foot measures at. Oh, your picture did not come through, so... I can't say too much about that.

Whether your current Reactor will do the trick for what you want will depend, in my mind, on one thing. Can the plate be mounted with the front axle being right under the ball of your foot. If that can't be done, then ideally, you'll need a shorter plate.

Don't know why the pics didn't come out. But you can see them in a folder on my profile page. My other skates are the hockey ones in my profile pic. They were bought 2nd hand and are too big for me really. Have had to pad them out with extra innersoles.
So I think my foot measures 155 from the middle of heel to middle of ball of foot.

Oh, so you went to a full art setup. That looks proper to me. I bet you feel like you are going to fall on your face when you stride, huh? You have to stride carefully and sink deeper with your knees.

That, along with the reactor and stiff cushions, should be a toe pivoting machine.

What I would suggest is not so much skating these, as learn to spin. But not spinning for the sake of spinning, but for the sake of doing 180 transitions. Back to front, front to back, while not moving. Then start skating slowly and start employing the 180's while skating. This is the kind of skate where you will be skating along, and then pop off 4 or 5 travelling 180's. Once you learn to put the right pressure to make the front axle want to flip, you'll be doing it all the time.

Going from an erstwhile normal skate to this. This must seem like a MONSTER. Suck it up, and put time in on this monster, realizing that it is set up for toe pivot. And then learn to do it. Once you get the feel, it will be like going from manual steering on a car to power steering. This skate is quite different, and probably seems horrible to you right now. Just know, it IS built for a purpose. And once you learn to tap into what it offers, you will love it.

Love your words of wisdom Rufus, thanks :-)
Yep I will suck it up and learn how to use these babies then!
I'm ok skating once I get past the first few pushes, the main fear is not having a toe stop. I'm used to a massive hockey one and didn't realize how much I used it until it wasn't there. I keep swapping between the jam plug and a small suregrip one that I cut down a bit so I could have it high (it doesn't do much, it's more of a security blanket) until I get my head around no toe stop.
I do however still use my hockey skates twice a week for, you know, hockey. So I will just have to learn to adjust between the two...
I'm feeling better about persevering with the reactor pro now though and will start practicing those 180's :-)

Oh, so you went to a full art setup. That looks proper to me. I bet you feel like you are going to fall on your face when you stride, huh? You have to stride carefully and sink deeper with your knees.

That, along with the reactor and stiff cushions, should be a toe pivoting machine.

What I would suggest is not so much skating these, as learn to spin. But not spinning for the sake of spinning, but for the sake of doing 180 transitions. Back to front, front to back, while not moving. Then start skating slowly and start employing the 180's while skating. This is the kind of skate where you will be skating along, and then pop off 4 or 5 travelling 180's. Once you learn to put the right pressure to make the front axle want to flip, you'll be doing it all the time.

Going from an erstwhile normal skate to this. This must seem like a MONSTER. Suck it up, and put time in on this monster, realizing that it is set up for toe pivot. And then learn to do it. Once you get the feel, it will be like going from manual steering on a car to power steering. This skate is quite different, and probably seems horrible to you right now. Just know, it IS built for a purpose. And once you learn to tap into what it offers, you will love it.

What he said. I have the Roll Line Dance plates on the Edea Classica Boot. The heel on the Edea boot is higher than what I have on my Riedell 220's and the Dance plate is a 160 (I wear a size 9 and the chart states I should have ordered a 180 length plate). My first time skating in them seemed like I was leaning forward on my tip-toe's the whole time. Couple that with me loosening my trucks for more maneuverability, I was in shock and felt like I had to start over. It took a few weeks of getting used to. Now, whatever I want to do, I have great control of the skates. Sometimes I make up stuff on the fly just to see if I can do it and most of the time, I pull it off!